Thursday, September 11, 2003

Man dies in ultralight aircraft crash
ANCHORAGE (AP) An ultralight aircraft pilot was killed at the Birchwood Airport in Chugiak on Tuesday afternoon after his single-seat airplane circled, clipped a tree and crashed beside the runway.

Man shot, killed in Anchorage
ANCHORAGE (AP) An Anchorage man was shot and killed early Wednesday morning in an apartment in the Mountain View neighborhood.

Three charged in murder of restaurant owner
ANCHORAGE (AP) An Anchorage restaurant owner carrying about $3,000 worth of proceeds in her purse was fatally shot in the head and robbed late Monday night as she arrived at her East Anchorage home.

School boards say state should decide waivers to exit exam
ANCHORAGE (AP) The Anchorage School Board has joined Fairbanks and the state school board association in saying the state not local boards should decide which students can get out of taking the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam.

Fish swing big sticks at Shea
NEW YORK Alex Gonzalez tripled in two runs with two outs in the ninth to keep the Florida Marlins atop the NL wild card standings with a 3-1 victory over the New York Mets Tuesday.

Marlins remain red hot
NEW YORK Juan Encarnacion and Derrek Lee hit back-to-back doubles that broke a fifth-inning tie and helped the Florida Marlins to a 7-3 victory over the New York Mets on Wednesday.

White Sox take two-game lead in AL Central
CHICAGO Mark Buehrle got another win against Minnesota, and the Chicago White Sox held on to beat the Twins 8-6 on Tuesday night and take a two-game lead in the AL Central.

WTO seeks to level trade field during talks
CANCUN, Mexico Negotiators from 146 countries sat down to thorny trade negotiations Wednesday, with rich and poor nations pushing conflicting agendas on agricultural reform and leaders cautioning that their decisions could mean life or death for billions of people.

Evergreen Resources testing wells in Mat-Su
Although Evergreen Resources is not currently looking for coal bed methane gas on the Kenai Penin-sula, the company's senior executive in Alaska told the Kenai Chamber of Commerce Wednesday that the company does do business with oil and gas industry suppliers here.

Business Briefs
Soldotna resident wins gas for a yearHEA's Snowden recognized for serviceUSDA announces $885,000 in home loansEstate planning seminar to be offered today

Art Briefs
Chorus looking for membersSong of the Year deadline nearsMuseum seeks artwork

Postcard book offers nutty nostalgia
So far, the 21st century hasn't offered much to cheer Alaskans. Twenty years ago there were crab in the sea, surpluses in the state coffers and good-paying jobs in the classifieds. The early 1980s are starting to look like the good old days.

Two years later, United States really not safer than it was
As we mark the second anniversary of the Sept. 11th tragedy, we need to be reminded that, in the immediate aftermath, the public thought that the massive appropriations made by Congress would somehow make our 2001Thanksgiving travel safer.

Bush in no position to demand anything of other countries
Concerning Hal Spence's opinion piece in the Sept. 7 Peninsula Clarion: Mr. Spence very rightly draws parallels between the present American occupation of Iraq and our involvement in Vietnam more than a quarter century ago. That mistake accomplished nothing except to kill or wound many thousands of Americans, and many more thousands of Vietnamese, and cost the American treasury billions that could have been better spent on other things. While history doesn't repeat itself in exactly the same way, it would appear to me that we are heading in exactly the same direction in this case.

Crashing others to get the win has become common
LOUDON, N.H. If Johnny Sauter had purposely rammed Matt Kenseth to send him caroming toward the fourth-turn wall midway in last Friday's NASCAR Busch Series race, he probably would have been called off the track for a penalty, then called to the NASCAR hauler for a more formal reprimand.

Fines given for post-race altercations
LOUDON, N.H. Stock car racing did very little to shed its worsening image last week at the Richmond International Raceway with post-race collisions and fights highlighting the Craftsman Truck, Busch and Winston Cup races.

Newsmaker: Mike Skinner
A pole position last week at the Richmond International Raceway was the kind of help Mike Skinner needed most as he tries to find full-time work in racing. He talked about being dedicated to helping MB2 Motorsports as driver Jerry Nadeau continues to recover from serious injuries sustained in a crash last May, while trying to make a future for him once Nadeau returns.

Out of this world
Saying that NASA is a learning organization with a lot to learn, the agency's associate administrator of education told Soldotna business leaders Tuesday that NASA will respond to all the recommendations in the recently released report about the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

School board deals with state business
In addition to district business Monday night, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education also dealt with some state business as members considered a call for resolutions from the Alaska Association of School Boards.

Mayors to honor community service
Today marks the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the mayors of Kenai and Soldotna will host the Twin Cities Mayors' Blood Drive and Salute to Community Service at the Soldotna Sports Center.

District sets aside money
Members of the Kenai Penin-sula Borough School District Board of Education voted Mon-day night to set aside about $1.6 million in district savings for upcoming increases to employee retirement funds.

Kenai woman receives national award for work
A Kenai woman who spends her time far from the spotlight has found herself in the glow of national recognition after winning an award for her work with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Tourism numbers show mixed effect
When terrorist attacks two years ago crashed airliners into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., the World Trade Center in New York City and a field in Pennsylvania, the U.S. travel industry was ground to a halt.

Sept. 11 still leaves mark on peninsula
If the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were a wake-up call to how vulnerable the nation's infrastructure is, steps taken since by the federal government have attempted to make everyday life safer for Americans.

Anniversary of terrorist attacks can be time for reflection, pride
In the octave of the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on America, there have been many attempts by the media to remind all citizens of the horror and heroism associated with the attacks on the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon and the American way of life.

Elected officials not serving public good
There is a trend in our democratic society that should be very alarming to all of us. It seems that our elected officials, whether on a national or state scale, no longer work for the common good of the United States of America or their constituents.

Around the Peninsula
KPC plans meeting, seeks council reps
Funny River to celebrate new fire station
Bowlers needed for mixed singles league
Counseling services board meeting set
Kenai Public Health Center closing for lunch
Mission parish to celebrate anniversary
Oktoberfest planned
Indoor air quality research needs volunteers
Christian women's club to sponsor brunch

Around the Peninsula
Health group to meetNutritional classes begin todayLoston to speak at KPCSoldotna seniors to hold fund-raiserBoys and Girls Club to hold auctionHazard mitigation meeting setDonations sought for Community ClosetUnited way annual kick-off plannedChild custody clinic scheduledArtists needed for harvest fund-raiser

VFW Ladies Auxiliary sponsors art contest
The VFW Ladies Auxiliary of the Jerry V. Horn Memorial Post No. 10046 will sponsor the Young American Creative Patriotic Art Awards. The contest was developed as a way to encourage high school students to use their artistic talents to express their patriotism.

Redoubt Elementary
The PTA-sponsored gift and wrapping paper fund-raiser sale began Friday. The proceeds will be used to help Redoubt families in need at Christmas and for many other projects.

Connections
Space still is available for students ages kindergarten through 12th grade.

Nikiski Middle-Senior High
This weekend will be a busy one for Nikiski sports teams. On Friday, the Nikiski volleyball team will host Grace Christian and the middle school soccer team plays in Soldotna.

Flights of fancy
Students in Jason Daniels' fourth-grade class at Kalifornsky Beach Elementary School got an up-close lesson in biology Tuesday when Jim Robinson of Nikiski came to visit.

Skyview High
Homecoming week will begin Monday. Each day will be a different spirit day and students are encouraged to dress up.

Cook Inlet Academy
Congratulations to Sara Wood for finishing first in the junior varsity girls' cross country running race in Seward on Aug. 30. The next meet is Saturday at Su-Valley.

Officials ban short cheerleader skirts
ELMA, Wash. (AP) Sacri-ficing a game-day tradition to ward off the distraction of bare adolescent thighs, Elma High School has banned its cheerleaders' short skirts from its hallways and classrooms.

NASA associate administrator for education to lecture on campus
Kenai Peninsula College is honored to announce that Dr. Adena Loston, NASA associate administrator for education, will visit several venues around the peninsula, including a presentation at 6 p.m. Thursday in the student commons area at the KPC campus in Soldotna.

Soldotna Elementary
The Imaginarium will bring its reptile show to visit today. Students will learn about reptiles by getting an up-close look at them during the assembly.

Sears Elementary
The school would like to thank the following community businesses for their help:

Tustumena Elementary
The first PTO meeting of the year will begin at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Parents are encouraged to attend. Child care is available.

North Star Elementary
Several important meetings have been scheduled for this week, including a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) meeting at 3:30 p.m.

Sterling Elementary
There are a few new faces on staff since the loss of Mrs. Macdonald, Mr. Wheat and Mrs. Lawrence from last year.

Mountain View Elementary
School pictures will be taken Thursday. Preschool pictures will be available from noon to 1 p.m.

Grace Lutheran
Dennis Leckwee has 13 students in the upper-grade room. Marian Werth and Judy Schmidt have eight students in the lower-grade room.

Nikiski Elementary
Gift wrap sales began Sept. 2. All orders need to be returned to the school by Tuesday. There will be prizes for students who turn in orders.

De La Hoya-Mosley rematch brings back fans
LAS VEGAS Oscar De La Hoya wasn't the only one stunned when Shane Mosley beat him the first time they met. Promoter Bob Arum was, too, though it had nothing to do with the outcome of the fight.

Birch Ridge Report: Season coming to close
Lethargy has settled itself comfortably in my brain; hence a shortness of golf info this week. I hate being banal, but the crisp and bright days of fall are beckoning me to ... blah, blah, blah.

Ducks ink Giguere to four-year pact
LOS ANGELES A relieved Jean-Sebastien Giguere agreed to a four-year contract with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on Wednesday, a day before training camp opens.

A few more chances
There will be a Last Chance Partners Tournament on Sept. 20. Scoring will b low gross and low net for golfers with GHIN handicap. Come play six holes scramble, six holes of best ball and six holes of alternating shots.

Prosecutor lays out case against Bryant
EAGLE, Colo. A prosecutor outlined the sexual assault case against Kobe Bryant for the first time Wednesday, saying there are photographs of injuries to the woman and a videotaped statement from her.

Clarett suspended for 2003 season
COLUMBUS, Ohio Maurice Clarett was suspended for the season Wednesday for violating NCAA rules, tarnishing Ohio State's national title and clouding the future of one of the nation's most talented running backs.